Tom Savage, left, was let back into the game after suffering a concussion against the 49ers last season.
Photograph: Tim Warner/Getty Images

One of the NFL’s most pressing problems isn’t close to being solved as the league’s chief medical officer discussed a rise in the number of player concussions last season.

Dr Allen Sills said there had been 291 reported cases of concussion last season compared with 250 in 2016, a 16% rise. In mitigation, the 2017 figures could have been affected by more players self-reporting concussions than in the past. However, Sills said that was not an excuse. “It’s not OK to simply stand behind that and say, ‘Well, the numbers are going up because we’re doing a better job,’” he said. “I think to me this is really a call to action to see what we can do to drive it down.”

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There was a huge rise – 73% – in concussions suffered during pre-season training camp practices. That could be attributed to players pushing hard as they try to make the roster for the new season. Dr Thom Mayer, the NFL Players Association’s medical director, said coaches needed to address the matter.

“With 291 concussions, if we’re going to take a progressive strategy toward reducing or eliminating the maximum number of concussions we have, I think it’s imperative, and I think we’re long past having coaches educated as to how these concussions occur,” Mayer said. “Not only the head coaches but also the position coaches. I think we have to get down to that level for them to understand precisely how these concussions occur.

“I get that there are 80 guys flying around trying to make the 53[-man roster], but I think we also owe to ourselves and to our players to take an aggressive education program to those coaches and assistant coaches.”

Sills and Mayer were speaking at an NFL head, neck and spine committee meeting on Tuesday. The league’s plans to reduce concussion were also discussed. The main points include increasing the use of “safer” helmets; educating teams about the dangers of pre-season concussions and looking at how the style of play can affect player safety.

Concussions in the NFL have been under increased scrutiny in recent years. Hall of fame linebacker Junior Seau and Pro Bowl safety Dave Duerson both took their own lives and were found to have the degenerative brain condition CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. A recent study of the brains of deceased NFL players showed that 110 out of 111 had signs of CTE. The study also claimed that longer careers exposed players to more severe cases of CTE.

On Tuesday, the NFL Players Association distributed a medical playbook to its members, in which it discussed CTE.

“The most important advice is not to assume you have a chronic, irreversible disease simply because you have symptoms,” reads a passage from the book. “Consult an expert in this field who can do the comprehensive neurologic evaluation and studies necessary to determine your status and the best treatment for it.”